Metatarsal support.



M. D. SCHWARTZ.

METATAQSAL SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. 1916.

1,295,61 1. Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

with finer movements of the toes. the dislocation or misplacement of the meta- MORITZ D. SCHWARTZ, or new YORK, N. Y.

METATARSAL SUPPORT Specification of Letters Patent. P t t d 25, 1919 Application filed July 29, 1916. Serial No. 112,042.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Monrrz D. SCHWARTZ, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metatarsal Supports, of which the following is a specification. a

The present invention relates to a device for the support or adjustment of the metatarsal bones of the foot.

Metatarsalgia is a painful condition of the foot, in which the part of the dome formed by the metatarsal bones, the transverse arch, is weakened, lowered, and sometimes obliterated. Normally this part of the foot is very flexible, although any one direction of movement is greatly limited. This flexibility is essential to proper poise and balance. If for any reason the muscles controlling the metatarsals become weak, the ligaments will stretch, the arch be lowered, and the movement between these bones be lost, together Due to tarsals, the interosseous ligaments or nerves are often compressed, producing discomfort and severe pain at the point of dislocation or derangement, the pain extending forward to the ends of the middle toes and often reverting into the arch of the foot.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a support for the metatarsal bones, that is placed below the same so as to lift the joints back to their natural. position, thereby relieving the compression from the affected ligaments or nerves, and correcting, in time, permanently their dislocation or derangement.

Another object of the invention is to produce a device of this type which can be manufactured on a commercial scale, or in other words one which is not so diflicult to produce as to be beyond the reasonable cost of such a contrivance.

A further object of the invention is to devise a support of the type described which can be conveniently attached to the foot of the wearer and also easily removed therefrom, and that will find, in wear, its proper position in relation to the metatarsal bones of the foot.

A still further object of the invention is to so construct the attaching means that it does not affect the comfort of the wearer.

With these and other objects in view,

which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is'better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement, and construction of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several parts and details of construction within the scope of the appended claims without departin from the spirit or sacrificing any of the a vantages of the invention.

One of the many possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which foot showing the attaching means of the metatarsal support thereon.

The supporter or adjuster comprises a soft pad orcushion 10, made of any suitable material such as, for instance, felt, or a suitable covering that is stuffed with a yielding material such as hair, cotton, etc. The un der face ll of this pad or cushion is flat, corresponding substantially to the configuration of the upper face of the insole of a shoe, while the upper face 12 of the said pad or cushion is rounded, at least at its edges, to correspond to the transverse arch of a normal foot. The length of this pad or cushion varies according to the requirements, and its width is such as to support, when in position, the three inner metatarsal bones a, b and 0 of the foot. From this it appears that the width of the pad corresponds substantially to half of that of the foot. To the pad is attached in any suitable manner a band 13, in the form of a forwardly extending loop. In the case illustrated in the drawings, this band is shown as being pasted to the pad or cushion, its ends extending all around the said pad or cushion as clearly appears from Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. It is, however, obvious that the band may be secured to the pad or cushion in any other suitable manner, but in all events so as not to cause discomfort to the wearer as the foot rests on the pad or cushion and the said band. The length of the loop varies according to the size of the foot, and should be such that it accommodates the three inner toes of the foot, and permits the pad or cushion to rest below the three inner metatarsal bones, without touching that portion of the foot that is in front of the metatarso-phalangeal joints.

The operation of this device is as follows: The band 13 is slipped over the three inner toes of the-foot, and the pad placed in position in relation to the l'netatarsal bones, in which it will be held by the foot-covering, Isguch as the stocking or sock as the case may e. shoe, the former has a tendency to slip forward, whereby the loop or band 13 is drawn taut. This, in turn, causes the three inner toes to contact substantially throughout their lengths with the insole of the shoe, or in other words the three inner toes are brought into the position in which they would rest, were the foot normal. The pad or cushion on the other hand lifts the metatarsal bones back totheir natural position and thus, obviously, removes the compression from the affected ligaments or nerves. Inasmuch as the pad or cushion is'narrower than the foot, it will easily find its'way, in putting on a shoe, to its proper'position. It is made narrower than the foot for the reason that the outer metatarsals are very seldom weakened. or'misplaced.

The pad or cushion is made of various sizes and thicknessesfor-accommodation to the size of the foot.

From the foregoing it appears that a very simple form of metatarsal support has been provided, and one that takes up the least possible space in the shoe, that is not liable tocause discomfort to the injured ormisplaced bones and joints, and that is capable ofsupporting the metatarsals in just the When now the foot is inserted into a proper position to relieve pain and to cause them to assume, in time, their corrected locations.

What I claim is:

1'. A metatarsal support, comprising a soft pad of a width corresponding substantially to half the width of the foot,.the said pad having a fiat under face adapted to rest on the insole of the shoe and an upper face provided with rounded edges to correspond to the transverse arch of a normal foot, and a band having its ends attached to said pad so as to form a forwardly extending loop adapted to be slipped over the three middle toes of the foot and leaving the outer ends of said toes free.

2. A metatarsalsupport, comprising a soft pad of a width corresponding substantially to half the width of the foot, the said pad having a flat under face adapted to: rest on the insole of the shoe and an upper face provided with rounded edges to correspond to the transverse arch of a normal foot, and aloop extending beyond the front edge of said pad adapted to be slipped over the three middle toes of the foot and leaving the outer ends of" said toes free.

3. A metatarsal support, comprising a pad for supporting the three middle metatarsals, the said pad having a fiat-under face adapted to rest on the insole of the shoe'and an upper face provided with rounded edges to correspond to the transverse arch of a normal foot, and aband connected thereto, said band extending beyond the front edge of said pad and forming a loop adapted to be slipped over some of the middle toes of the foot and leaving the outer ends of said toes free.

Signed at New York. in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 21st day of June, A. D. 1916.

MORITZ D. SCHWARTZ;

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, addressingtthe' "Commissioner '0!" Patents,

Washington, D. 0; 

